Link: World TeamTennis: Pushing for Change

Written by: Staff on 23rd July 2010

Link: World TeamTennis: Pushing for Change |

Ed Note: This story appeared in the Wall Street Journal, click the link below to read the entire piece.

By SOPHIA HOLLANDER

On a recent Wednesday night in New York, a shaggy green mutant lumbered through the stands, exhorting fans to cheer on players whose names could be read on the backs of their jerseys. Teammates gathered along the sidelines, as the coaches barked advice and music blasted in from stadium speakers.

It was a standard sports scene—and a radical remaking of tennis.

World TeamTennis, founded in the 1970s by Billie Jean King, concludes its 35th season this weekend. New York’s team, the Sportimes, hopes to be among the finalists competing for the championship this weekend.

Like third-party politicians, alternative sports leagues have always occupied a unique role: They can shift the conversation, shoving dated policies into the public eye and forcing their re-examination. But ultimately, they are generally absorbed back into the mainstream or dispelled into oblivion.

So far, World TeamTennis, which features 10 co-ed franchises across the country fielding a mix of major stars, tennis legends and young upstarts, has done neither. While spurring some changes, it remains fundamentally outside; the league is holding on midway through its third decade, but not quite breaking through.

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Topics: Alternative Sports, Billie Jean King, Co Ed, Ed Note, Franchises, Major Stars, Midway, Oblivion, Public Eye, Sidelines, Sophia Hollander, Sports Leagues, Sports Scene, Teammates, Tennis World, Third Decade, Upstarts, Wall Street Journal, Wednesday Night, World Teamtennis